Month: June 2018

It’s unbelievable how I had never heard of this place until a week ago . This one is in Kalina , Santacruz East , a place I go to so often , but Thotrin cafe , tucked in the Koleveri village of Kalina ,remained a well kept secret . My sister’s colleague mentioned it to her and she was so intrigued , she went straight to the place to check it out .

I got a few pictures , a few tips on what to order ( dishes that are on the menu and those that aren’t ) and in about three days after the temptation , I gave in .

A hole in the wall , Thotrin cafe , is a simple place , three tables and a seating capacity of twelve at a time . The service is slow , but it’s worth the wait .

The beef salad , pork momos and snail curry in a potato base are dishes that you must try , none of these feature on their menu , so you’ve just got to let them know that you’ve come for those . Am not sure why they don’t have these delicacies mentioned , but word of mouth publicity has got them famous for the right dishes !

We ordered a Thotrin banana juice ( fermented ) which tasted in between vinegar and toddy ! The husband found it absolutely repulsive and one sip was all he had . I had more than half of the quantity , funnily I was enjoying the mild kick ! The term for virgin drinks in their local language is ‘chirchomri’ .

It was time for the beef salad . The beef is the dried salted version , similar to what I have had in Darjeeling , it tasted like a rubbery version of dried Bombay duck ( A Goan staple ) and I didn’t quite enjoy the texture , but the beans in the salad were yum !

Finally , the light snail curry cooked with potatoes, mint , ginger etc and sticky rice. Two ways to get the meat out of those shells , suck or use a tooth pick . This dish and the rain outside , perfect 🙂 I didn’t think I’d enjoy snails as much as I did . This is a must try . The snail curry is called ‘ korpungla’.

The pork curry with bamboo shoot is supposed to be a star dish , but we were too full and I was dizzy with that fermented banana juice , so may be next time .

She sat in her dimly lit room , sulking as usual . Nursing her broken heart ,wondering about the hopelessness of it all . The door opened , her little girl wobbled across with a sheet of paper and a box of crayons . She stretched her arms towards her mama as if to say , “ Come on , it’s time to colour .”

The box was opened and in it were broken crayons . The baby picked one and began to colour the white sheet and there she taught her mama a lesson , broken crayons colour too !

Taken on the last morning in Malshej when I woke up earlier than usual and decided to go out . This ant on a bottle brush left me in awe. Almost like a dance , balancing on those feelers and towards the end I thought it was attempting yoga !

Spent three quiet days away from the city . A mountain pass in the Western ghats , Malshej is nestled in the rugged Sahyadri ,130 km away from Mumbai. Known for its waterfalls and mist , there’s more to the ghats . A few pictures from my early morning walks .

As she looked into the mirror , she knew something had changed. This was not the first time she was in love , but it felt different. She hadn’t felt so buoyant in years . This is what love does , makes you feel alive and happy.

She wasn’t falling in love this time , but beginning to love herself .